Tuesday, October 1, 2013

A new year of optimism begins today

On the first of October every year, Optimist Clubs, Districts, and Optimist International welcome new

leaders. In the PNW District, Fred Wallace, Gresham Optimist Club, will take over the reins as governor. His motto is, "Step it up for the kids."

On an international level, Ron Huxley, Optimist Clubs of Ausable-Port Franks, ON and Jeffersonville, IN will share his version of optimism with the world as he spreads his theme, "My Optimism."

What does being an optimist mean to you? President Ron overcame adversity to become the optimist that he is today and he shares the following letter with you.

"My Optimism" ... an open letter to fellow Optimists

My friends, one and all,

Every member is an Optimist because of a feeling they get when they affect the lives of young people. Whether it is at the club or the district or international level, each of us moves forward with one unified goal in mind; make our community and our world a better place for our children to live in.

How we portray our optimism varies for each of us. Some of us strive to be a part of the decision making process. While others are happy with witnessing the smiles on the faces of the young people we serve. It is important that every club and district of Optimist International recognizes that the involvement of our members must be filled with personal enjoyment. It must be entertaining and it must capture the underlining need of our members to feel that they make a difference.

In 2013 -2014 it is my wish that every club and district recognize that our children are served by active members. All members place their involvement in club and district meetings and activities on their social priority list. If we satisfy their desire for fun and enjoyment we move higher up on their personal list. We need to find out what makes our members happy and make it happen. The answer may be different for every club but the results will return big rewards in more working members and new leadership.

We can no longer lose members without a proactive plan to replace them first. For what ever reason, even the smallest of deletions has a major effect on the ability of this organization to continue to support its endeavors. Every club must understand the fact that we are all Optimist International. We are all a voice that makes a difference in our communities and our districts. It is time to raise that voice so that it echoes from club to club, village to village, city to city. Build Optimism to a stature that everyone wants to be apart of. That is my “MO” (MyOptimism). Put a smile on a child and love in your heart.

Only you can make the difference.

Yours in Optimism,
Ron Huxley
2013-2014 President Optimist International

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This is a website about Optimist Clubs in the Pacific Northwest developed and maintained by Linda Vaught.

Linda has served as the West Region Optimist International Vice President, Outstanding and Distinguished Governor of the PNW District, and Secretary-Treasurer of the Outstanding and Distinguished Illinois District, among many other Optimist International, District, and Club leadership roles. She is proud to call the Share-A-Smile Optimist Club in Washington state home.

Unless otherwise indicated, all information on this site has been created and contributed by Linda Vaught. Please give attribution to the author and/or website when sharing information from this website. Thank you.